As he did last year, Wajobu has graciously offered his services as an on site reporter at AK Fest 2009. The first of his pictures are coming in now... Stay tuned for more as the fest progresses!

Mac Gear
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=148528&stc=1&d=1241278672

From the Venus HiFi room
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=148529&stc=1&d=1241278672

Keep 'em coming. I am envious that I couldn't make the trip, so pics are helping out!

From the SMAC room...

NOSValve's mono block:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=148531&stc=1&d=1241281833


Drybasement's Bottlehead Seduction with mods:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=148530&stc=1&d=1241281833

Many thanks fotno! It's worth noting that my shoe-phone camera cannot do justice to the appearance of so much of this stunning equipment. Unfortunately, due to dim (mood!) lighting I won't be sending my photos of the Manley Snapper and new Jumbo Shrimp preamp...who says tubes don't have bass?! :D

The Manley Shrimp is a VERY substantial piece of equipment (improved internally plus now with remote). Also, the return visit of the MA7000 by McIntosh paired with protoype Snell speakers...great! I think that this integrated amp is a wonderful piece of equipment.

So much equipment...so little time!

From the Blue Circle room, an Oracle turntable -

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=148556&stc=1&d=1241299096

Our intrepid reporter apparently has his digicam set to soft, romantic portrait mode.

;-)

Our intrepid reporter apparently has his digicam set to soft, romantic portrait mode.



Lol. Yep, looks like Walker's lens is set to Penthouse setting. :thmbsp:

Thanks Walker! I wish I could have been there.

That's some MoFo turntable.

I just talked to Walker a little while ago, and he's using his special Get Smart shoe phone for these photos. Blurry or not, keep 'em coming old son!

That's some MoFo turntable.
The correct term is MoFi.:tresbon:

I just talked to Walker a little while ago, and he's using his special Get Smart shoe phone for these photos. Blurry or not, keep 'em coming old son!

He's a double naught spy.

He aint No Ansel Adams..LOL

man I wish I was there..if you guys post a pic of Dnewman, include a spoiler as not to scare people!

Keep those clandestine photos coming. Wish I could be there.

Still no pics of PEOPLE, dammitt....

Tonight's entertainment - Laith Al-Saadi

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=148574&stc=1&d=1241314354

Wow, that's up to date. Just came up to the room after his first set. I'm exhausted, trying to get up the energy for the next 6 hour so of partying ...

Don't have too much fun there Rich ;)

Another shot from tonight's show, this time electric!

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=148631&stc=1&d=1241325166

:banana:Keep'em comin'! ......some of us can't be there...and we're hopin' you all are enjoying the good times! :yes:

nice pics! Keep'em coming!

Another shot from tonight's show, this time electric!

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=148631&stc=1&d=1241325166

Great pics, Fotno. Very much appreciated from those of us that could not attend this years festivities. And to think, I had this case of Grecian Formula I could have gotten rid of if I was there. :D

Still no pics of PEOPLE, dammitt....

Yes weres all the AKers!!! :thmbsp:

Well, YOU certainly were missed yesterday, pal!! :yes:

I'll drag my camera there today and get enough mug shots to make this place look like the wall in the Post Office...

Well, at around 12:00 or so, these guys simply went into orbit. Something like,
"We're already over, but we'd like to really rock one out for you, some Santana as requested."

And then, some of the most incredible music I've ever heard happened. And that's by anyone anywhere. The stars lined up or something
Some of the comments that I heard were,
"I'll never be able to describe it"
"I've never seen drumming like that"
"That tops it all, and I've seen lots of great players"

For those of you who were there, you know all about it.
I'm sure that someone else could do a better job of reporting. I'm still sort of spellbound.

Yes, Laith's trio SMOKED to the finish with Santana's Black Magic Woman...quite a drum solo!

Actually, the concert followed the Member of the Year presentation to our own, and most gracious markthefixer! A very nice presentation by Ernie (Luvvinvinyl).

Congratulations Mark!!

Two of AK's finest, Squidward and Pustelniakr -

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=148690&stc=1&d=1241367793

Keep the pictures coming! :thmbsp:

Scott

Two of AK's finest, Squidward and Pustelniakr -


Amazingly enough, I think I can guess which is which ;-)

Rich notes to me as I snapped 4 photos that I would not get a shot with his eyes open...and I didn't!!

Three more fine gentlemen!

From left to right:

Luvvinvinyl, Urizen and BrianB
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=148714&stc=1&d=1241387221

I'm home, tired, and eating a nice, home cooked pork roast dinner while looking over some pics,and looking forward to going to bed well before midnight for a change :D

Cool photos... thanks for sharing!

dont these guys age???

And to think, I had this case of Grecian Formula I could have gotten rid of if I was there. :D

Great comment!!:lmao::lmao:

I had a great time at the Fest, and was sad to have left so quickly, but I barely made my flight, and am home now...exhausted! Great equipment, music, friends and a heck of a time...thanks to Grumpy, Luvvinvinyl, Nancy, Linda, Laith (and trio), the vendors and dealers, AK members who set-up their rooms, SMAC and all who made the Fest possible!!

Fotno, how the heck did I miss meeting you??? Dammit.....

dont these guys age???

Its amazing what you can do with Photoshop....

Fotno, how the heck did I miss meeting you??? Dammit.....

He was only there in spirit...we were passing around a cell phone at dinner so he could say hi to everybody.

Hey, Kam! I don't know how I missed seeing you. Except maybe by being too lazy to walk around looking for people.

My big take-away from the Fest this year:
If all you listen to is female jazz vocalists then probably any system of any kind will work fine. Diana Krall & her fine sounding ilk are the default choice for many rooms. I have to assume that this is because this type of music shows off the good qualities and fails to reveal the flaws in most systems. Therefore if you always want to be happy with the sound of your system stock up on Holly Cole, Jennifer Warnes, Etta James, Patricia Barber, Nora Jones, etc. Give all of your large scale orchestral music to Goodwill and be happy.

With thanks to Murray (AK member skippy_ps)...this is a photo of one of the two McIntosh 50W monoblock amps (vintage 1949) that was on display in the McIntosh Room. At first, on Saturday, I thought that they were "on display" only, but by the afternoon they were powering the systems in the McIntosh suite. These were restored by a technician at AudioClassics (I have forgotten the person's name), but for 60 year old amps they sounded just wonderful. A real tribute to the circuit design and transformers.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=148753&d=1241411557

Fotno, how the heck did I miss meeting you??? Dammit.....

Sorry to say, once again circumstances prevented me from attending. I wouldn't have missed a chance to shake your hand had I been there. Walker has been kind enough the last two fests to let me help post his photos so I get to be there (as Clay said) in spirit anyway.

I hate I missed this one, but hopefully that won't always be the case.

fotno, once again, thank you for taking the time to post the photos that I sent from my uber-secret-misty-imaged-shoe-phone.

My pleasure Sir.

A mile north of the Fest site is the historic Joshua Simmons Farm (first settled in 1824). The original log cabin is long gone, but the 120 or so acres are now a public park and on the National Register for Historic Places. Despite the weather forecasted for the weekend, the mornings (and my walks) were delightful. The photos include two overall views, the General Store and one of the two chapels on the site. The last image is a rather interesting building ornament on one of the office buildings in the office park across the street from the fest hotel...it was honking to another in the parking lot that I was following around :D

My shoe-phone does better with proper light!

Thanks for the pic`s and all your hard work, sneaking a few choice shots!

A mile north of the Fest site is the historic Joshua Simmons Farm (first settled in 1824). The original log cabin is long gone, but the 120 or so acres are now a public park and on the National Register for Historic Places. Despite the weather forecasted for the weekend, the mornings (and my walks) were delightful. The photos include two overall views, the General Store and one of the two chapels on the site. The last image is a rather interesting building ornament on one of the office buildings in the office park across the street from the fest hotel...it was honking to another in the parking lot that I was following around :D

My shoe-phone does better with proper light!

How did you find that place? I worked within a mile of the hotel for years, and I hike most of the local parks regularly. I have never heard of that farm!

Any testimony I could offer would not stand up in court. Fortunately I had several folks help me push my walker around this weekend...

I'm pretty sure I had a great time. My recollection is sketchy, so that impression may change as the reports continue to come it. Certain watering holes did seem to roll up the sidewalks and pull in the shingles a bit too early, if you ask me (and even if you don't).

Enjoy,
Rich P

Any testimony I could offer would not stand up in court. Fortunately I had several folks help me push my walker around this weekend...

I'm pretty sure I had a great time. My recollection is sketchy, so that impression may change as the reports continue to come it. Certain watering holes did seem to roll up the sidewalks and pull in the shingles a bit too early, if you ask me (and even if you don't).

Enjoy,
Rich P

Nice to hear you enjoyed yaself Rich.

How did you find that place? I worked within a mile of the hotel for years, and I hike most of the local parks regularly. I have never heard of that farm!

In walking north up the road (left out of parking lot)...I noticed a street sign labeled (on the right off of Victor Parkway)...Joshua Simmons Drive (just before 8 Mile Rd)...white fence, farm house, green field...curiosity got the best of me and I started walking...whenever I visit a new place, I start walking...

There's even a nature trail within the park.

Map Link (Fest Hotel is in the lower left of the image)
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Livonia,+MI&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&ie=UTF8&hl=en&f=q&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&ll=42.434084,-83.421936&spn=0.011513,0.019226&t=h&z=16&iwloc=A

Close-up of Farm
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Livonia,+MI&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&ie=UTF8&hl=en&f=q&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&ll=42.438241,-83.418149&spn=0.005756,0.009613&t=h&z=17&iwloc=A

Great pics! Keep 'em coming. Next year I'll be back to 'live and in color'.

Great pics! Keep 'em coming. Next year I'll be back to 'live and in color'.

Who said anything about next year...

Who said anything about next year...

Well.......


Was a pleasure meeting you and your family. Wish I had the time to show you around the place. Next year plan on spending more time

Who said anything about next year...
Please Don't Give me a heart attack!!! --I have already blocked off 2010 for another big event.
James (JHS2RT)

Well.......

Forget that nameless garbage...
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2718293&postcount=4

Forget that nameless garbage...
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2718293&postcount=4

Nice Ray you got it in writing :thmbsp:

With respect to fotno and AKFest '10, the wheels are already in motion. ;)

Uh huh... Plotting already are we?

I'm in for sure, Mark.

Steve, remember the old adage...with friends like these, you don't really have a choice.

...with friends like these, you don't really have a choice.
This couldn't be more accurate.

BTW Steve, there's a piece of a bottle of some fancy-shmancy Scotch waiting for you at Todd's. Don't let that rascal shit you out of it.

Compliments of Ernie.

Enough schmoosing, more pictures.... I spent too much time in Whell's room and missed part of the 3rd floor....

I spent all my time talking and listening, didn't really get to snap any pictures (and I was carrying my camera all weekend). Next year I will bring my external flash (the rooms are dark) and a mono-pod and snap a bunch of pictures. :yes:

Well, at around 12:00 or so, these guys simply went into orbit. Something like,
"We're already over, but we'd like to really rock one out for you, some Santana as requested."

And then, some of the most incredible music I've ever heard happened. And that's by anyone anywhere. The stars lined up or something
Some of the comments that I heard were,
"I'll never be able to describe it"
"I've never seen drumming like that"
"That tops it all, and I've seen lots of great players"

For those of you who were there, you know all about it.
I'm sure that someone else could do a better job of reporting. I'm still sort of spellbound.

Best live show I have seen. Period. :yes:

Who said anything about next year...


You did. The hotel did, we all did... you do great work and are popular!

Popular ? Wasn't Jeffrey Dalmer popular too ?

Popular ? Wasn't Jeffrey Dalmer popular too ?

Pass me them fava beans.

nom nom nom